• The six states say Nigeria’s electoral body failed to transmit results electronically through a system meant to show transparency.
• The states sought a court declaration that all election results were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.
• Bola Tinubu was declared the winner in the election, which took place at the weekend.

Six opposition-led Nigerian states have asked the Supreme Court to declare the outcome of last weekend’s presidential election invalid, saying the electoral body breached the law and its own rules during the count, court papers showed.

Ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party candidate Bola Tinubu was declared the winner. Still, the two primary opposition challengers have said the result was fraudulent and vowed to challenge it in court.

Six of Nigeria’s 36 states – Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto – said in court papers dated 28 February that the election body had failed to transmit results electronically through a system meant to show transparency.

They sought a court declaration that all presidential election results announced by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever”.

There was no immediate comment on the case from the government, Tinubu’s campaign council, the INEC or the Attorney General of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami, who was formally cited as a respondent in the lawsuit.

Governors lead the states from the central opposition People’s Democratic Party, whose candidate, Atiku Abubakar, came second in the presidential election, according to the official tally.

Election observers from the European Union, the Commonwealth and other bodies reported various problems, including failures in systems designed to prevent vote manipulation.

The observers criticised INEC for poor planning and voting delays but did not allege fraud. The commission itself apologised for the technical problems during the count.

In Nigeria, elections are challenged at the Appeals Court, which sits as a tribunal.

But the six states sidestepped that everyday process. Instead, they sued the federal government, not INEC, arguing that this was a constitutional case, which falls within the jurisdiction of the highest court in Nigeria.

According to the Supreme Court register, a hearing date has yet to be set.

There have been numerous legal challenges to the outcome of past Nigerian presidential elections, but none have succeeded.